Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Milestones

Fidel Castro passed away last November and
we have the 50th anniversary of Che Guevara’s death coming up on the
9th of October. However a very significant anniversary has gone
unheralded. The 6th of October 2016 was the 40th
anniversary of the downing of Cubana Flight 455 in the Caribbean. The flight
was on its way from Barbados to Jamaica. 73 persons lost their lives when two
bombs exploded on board. 57 Cubans were on board. Among the dead were all 24
members of the 1975 national Cuban fencing team that had just won all the gold
medals in the Central American and Caribbean championships; many were
teenagers.

The tragedy is on a list of 37 terrorist
attacks on planes on Wikipedia. It may well now be one of many but it is not forgotten
in Cuba. School children re-enact the crash for foreign visitors and once you
see that re-enactment you understand why it is seared into the national
consciousness. Cuba is convinced that the explosions were CIA sponsored.

The Wikipedia entry on the incident makes
interesting reading. CIA operatives are clearly implicated in the article. From
the Bay of Pigs to the many attempts on Fidel Castro’s life, Cubans are
familiar with the ways of the CIA. It’s hard to believe that a country that has
been under such consistent attack from the CIA will now change its ways and
fall into step with the capitalist world. Why would it? As Fidel said: They talk about the failure of socialism but where is
the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

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About ACFS

The Australia-Cuba Friendship Society (ACFS) involves Australians from ten city branches. Members foster understanding between our two countries. We encourage cultural, economic and scientific exchanges between Australia and Cuba. We invite speakers,enjoy musical and social gatherings and each year send a group of Australians, "The Southern Cross Brigades" to Cuba on a work-study holiday. We meet at 7.30pm on the first Monday of each month in the Whitlam room of the Belconnen Labor Club.